NEWS ARCHIVE

Elmo actor Kevin Clash resigns amid sex allegation

Lawsuit by second accuser filed Tuesday

Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash resigned Tuesday from Sesame Street. Clash is the target of a $5 million lawsuit that accuses him of having sex with an underaged boy.

Elmo actor Kevin Clash resigns amid sex allegation

Lawsuit by second accuser filed Tuesday

Share

Shares

Copy Link

{copyShortcut} to copy
Link copied!

Updated: 9:42 AM EDT Apr 25, 2014

NEW YORK —

Sesame Workshop said Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash has resigned from "Sesame Street" in the wake of allegations that he had sex with an underaged youth.

Last week a man accused Clash of having sex with him when he was a teenage boy, a charge Clash denied. A day later, the man recanted his charge, but a $5 million lawsuit by a second accuser was filed Tuesday, also accusing Clash of being involved with him when he was a minor.

Related Content

Cecil Singleton alleges that he was just 15 years old when he met Clash on a gay telephone chat line room in 2003. Clash was 32.

The lawsuit contends Clash trolled gay telephone chat line rooms to meet and have sex with underaged boys.

The lawsuit claims Clash persuaded, induced, coerced or enticed Singleton to meet him for sexual encounters, gaining his trust by taking him to nice dinners and giving him money.

"He presented himself as a perfect gentleman. He told me how beautiful I was and appeared genuinely interested in anything I had to say," Singleton said.

Just last week, Sheldon Stephens accused Clash of engaging him in a sexual affair when he was 16 years old. Stephens recanted his statements. TMZ reports Stephens signed a $125,000 settlement with Clash and has since expressed regret about retracting his story.

Sesame Workshop made the resignation known through a statement:

"The controversy surrounding Kevin's personal life has become a distraction that none of us want, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from Sesame Street. This is a sad day for Sesame Street."

11 News interviewed a man from Clash's former Baltimore County neighborhood on Tuesday night. The man, who didn't want to be identified, said he's known Clash his entire life.

"I've grown up living next to Elmo, you know, so there's always been people asking questions and stuff like that, and my response has always been that he's the most down to earth, wonderful man I've ever met, and this all come as a surprise to me," the man said.

Sesame Workshop credited Clash for helping them harness the educational power of the media to help children all over the world reach their highest potential.

Clash grew up in Turners Station in eastern Baltimore County. According to a PBS documentary on his life, he always wanted to be part of Jim Henson's team on "Sesame Street."

"When I was 9 years old, there was this dream that I had: 'Wow, I wish I could work with the Muppets,'" Clash said in the documentary.

Clash was the voice of Elmo for 28 years. The lawsuit claims he lived a prominent public life centered around the entertainment of toddlers, while at the same time he was, in secret, preying on teenage boys to satisfy his depraved sexual interests.

Clash issued a statement saying in part that he's leaving "Sesame Street" with a heavy heart and looks forward to resolving his personal matters privately.

According to The New York Times, the production of "Sesame Street" may not be affected. Clash had been helping to find other Elmo puppeteers for some time, and some even filled in for Clash while he was away.

Perhaps one indicator of public reaction to the allegations will be revealed through Elmo sales this holiday season.

Clash created the voice and persona for Elmo, who has become one of "Sesame Street's" most popular characters.